Resurrection Empire

Chapter 1580: Chapter 591: Overwhelming Forces, The Entire Clan Goes to War (Part 3)

At the same time, she also rejected the proposal by some staff officers to employ a strategy of scorched earth, sacrificing eight hundred of their own first. She realized this would inevitably be a prolonged battle; relying only on the current forces would not be sufficient to ultimately hold the line. It was crucial to maintain productivity and population reproduction potential as much as possible.

After Jin Shi delivered the highest speech, more detailed orders were dissected by the Empire Super Network and distributed to various locations.

Within the Nanxiang Star Cluster, fleet after fleet began rapid maneuvers upon receiving precise orders.

Since maintaining productivity was essential, simply guarding the Star Gates would not suffice. Wen Zaiyin requested that each fleet form a grid aggregation within the Star Cluster, creating one defensive base after another.

Hundreds of bases will be distributed across the Star Cluster like stars scattered on a Go board.

Each defensive base has its own defense zone.

Wen Zaiyin arranged very professionally, controlling the scale of each defensive base and the distance between them with extreme precision and subtlety, ensuring a certain level of combat strength in defense zones and allowing for the possibility of mutual assistance in encircling and penetrating the enemy.

Furthermore, the distribution pattern of these defensive bases aligns perfectly with the differentiation of productivity and level of civilization focus. The closer to bustling, populated, and productive star systems, the stronger the defensive base’s capability.

Heavily armed were stationed around the hub region near the Nanxiang Star Gate.

At this moment, the prior transformation into space nomadic tribes by the Red Blade Clan brought great convenience to Wen Zaiyin.

Over the past decades, nearly a thousand star systems under Ren Zhong’s rule, as well as some large celestial bodies in the Shattered Star Ring, represented the peak of productivity within the Nanxiang Star Cluster, and were of utmost importance as defense targets.

Originally, defending these regions would have inevitably required dispersing large amounts of troops.

But now, thanks to Ren Zhong’s foresight, the Red Blade Clan voluntarily abandoned the Feudal Star Systems, even pre-drained all planets within their rule, leaving behind only some true dead stars with value less than metallic trash stars, and proactively regrouped and relocated to the Liao Yuan Star System, still maintaining mobility.

This allowed the Nanxiang Military and Political Center to save considerable forces, focusing only on defending the remaining star systems.

When planning troop deployments, Wen Zaiyin did not make arrangements for the Red Blade Clan. He intended to keep them as a trump card.

Upon seeing the troop scale proactively reported by the Red Blade Clan, Wen Zaiyin was also taken aback. A total population of 8 trillion, 1.7 trillion soldiers, nearly three thousand Planet Ships, nearly one million large ships, nearly ten million medium-sized ships, tens of millions of small ships, and even more ultra-small Flying Devices.

Such scale was seven times that of the direct fleet under the Marquis Zhenjiang Mansion, ten times that of the combined standing fleet of the Nanxiang Star Cluster’s central military government and other nobles’ summoned fleets.

At this moment, Wen Zaiyin finally realized how terrifying the Red Blade Clan’s "militaristic zeal" was, and how magnificent the grand gift the Duke Wenle Mansion had sent to Earl Red Blade back then.

Wen Zaiyin felt immense shock and saw a great opportunity.

He believed that with Ren Zhong’s strong support, he could certainly shine in this war.

Having the right to view military intelligence, Liu An’s mood was particularly complicated at this moment.

He was also startled by the Red Blade Army to the point that he almost wished he could bow down and sing a song of submission.

Yet at the same time, he was thinking that if he played his cards right, he could secretly eliminate Ren Zhong by wielding the blade of the Ascender. Would the formidable Red Blade Army not then be within his grasp? Ren Zhong didn’t have a legal heir!

This time, I will strike it rich.

Consequently, Liu An instead urgently anticipated in his heart, hoping that the army of the Ascender would quickly arrive so that he could execute his plan.

Liu An repeatedly pondered and secretly plotted, striving to conceive a sure-kill plan targeting Ren Zhong.

And it was at this time when a new order came down from the wartime command center located on Wangjiang Star to the Nanxiang Star Cluster’s command center.

Both Wen Zaiyin and Liu An, within the command center space station, glanced at it and exchanged looks of dismay.

Marquis Zhenjiang Jin Shi believed that Star Gates in other regions might fall, but at all costs, each Star Domain must maintain control over at least one Star Gate.

Without question, the one she intended to protect was the large Star Gate in the core Star Cluster of the Far Border Star Domain, which had the strongest transmission capacity, the farthest transmission distance, and a direct link to the Empire Core.

Therefore, she intended to transfer the entire Red Blade Army to the core Star Cluster for defense.

Upon receiving the order, Ren Zhong immediately led the massive fleet away from the Liao Yuan star, straight towards the nearby Star Gate.

Watching the movements of the Red Blade Army, Wen Zaiyin and Liu An felt their hearts bleed.

Marquis Zhenjiang’s request was beyond reproach, and nobody could oppose it.

But it was like a fatal blow piercing the hearts of both Wen Zaiyin and Liu An.

Wen Zaiyin felt as if the great military exploits within reach had slipped away, while Liu An sensed that life no longer held any promise.

Yet both soon regained their spirits.

Wen Zaiyin thought that if the Red Blade Army left, then the weight of the Nanxiang Star Cluster in the war would decrease accordingly, and the Ascender might not target it for their primary assault, so there was still hope to defend.

Liu An, on the other hand, thought that although the Red Blade Army had departed, at least four to five trillion non-military population and numerous productivity factories and equipment of the Red Blade Clan remained.

As long as he found the right opportunity for Ren Zhong on the front lines to perish, the remaining Red Blade Clan members and vast productivity would still be within his grasp.

But then a public response from the Red Peak Earl Mansion appeared at the command center.

Ren Zhong publicly announced in a video speech that, in response to Marquis Zhenjiang’s call, he decided to lead the entire Red Blade Clan into battle.

All flying vehicles, all ships, all population of the Red Blade Clan would pass through the Star Gate, heading to the most perilous core war zone.

Yes, the entire clan would go to battle, leaving no one behind!

In an instant, the Empire was shocked.

In past wars, even if nobles themselves had to go into battle, they would always leave a large population and some relatives behind as the seeds of civilization in the relatively safe rear; the full clan participation like the Red Blade Clan was unprecedented.

Ren Zhong ended with: "The Red Blade Clan will be loyal to His Majesty and fight for the Empire."

To Liu An, the words sounded especially grating.